Government affairs

As predicted in January (link), Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN) has introduced the Promote Accountability and Government Efficiency (PAGE) Act (H.R. 3257) to define future federal employees as “at-will employees,” as a means to remove or suspend individuals without due process. Such employees would be subject to the whims of political appointees overseeing federal agencies and could be fired without notice or right to appeal for good cause, bad cause, or no cause at all.

The measure specifically calls for making new federal employees “at will” workers, allowing agency heads to immediately suspend an employee without pay or appeal, subjecting pay raises to an arbitrary new formula, denying retirement benefits to anyone under investigation for a felony (including retirees), allowing agency heads to demote career executives and reduce their pay without cause, and preventing union representation on the worksite.

The bill is currently co-sponsored by Reps. Dave Brat (R-VA), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), and Jason Smith (R-MO). 

NALC is urging letter carriers to ask their House members to oppose the PAGE Act. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, provide your ZIP code to connect to your representative, and ask them to reject the PAGE Act.